A former gravedigger who is fighting to secure an inquiry following his sacking is bidding to become a councillor.

Chris Gregory, from Berwick in Northumberland, was one of two gravediggers dismissed by Northumberland County Council amid fears of burials in the wrong grave, the wrong memorial being on a grave, and problems with record keeping.

The duo are currently embroiled in a battle with the council having called on bosses to hold a probe into their dismissal, and issue an apology.

Mr Gregory is now standing for Berwick Town Council although he has said it is not in any way linked to his dismissal.

Now a self employed gardener and living at Scremerston, he said he had been asked to stand by people in the ward, in which he has worked for 25 years. “I think I am a pretty straight forward honest kind of guy, that is the feedback from the people up there,” Mr Gregory said. “They want somebody up there who is real.”

In November 2012, the county council revealed that “problems” were suspected at the North Road and Tweedmouth cemeteries in Berwick after the authority took over management of the sites from the now defunct Berwick Borough Council in 2009. Mr Gregory and Malcolm Purvis, who worked at the two sites, were suspended and eventually sacked after an investigation found apparent irregularities, but have always denied any wrongdoing.

The council initially feared there could be around 30 cases of burials in the wrong grave, the wrong memorial being on a grave, deeds having been issued incorrectly or an unregistered burial having taken place. The men had been arrested in October 2010 amid allegations they assaulted their manager and pushed her into an open grave at the Tweedmouth cemetery, although police took no further action.

In April, the council released the results of an independent audit into the apparent anomalies which it says confirmed there were “serious issues with record keeping.” However, the council said its “very worst fears...did not come about.”

The duo are currently seeking to have the authority hold an internal investigation into their dismissals, and issue an apology, and have approached politicians and the town council for support.

Mr Gregory is now standing for election to the vacant Magdalene ward on the town council, as an independent. He said: “It is not a vendetta, I am not in this to get one up on county council or anything like that. We are still fighting this thing with Northumberland County Council but is a separate issue all together.”

The election follows the resignation of Phil Elliott and takes place on September 25. Mr Gregory stands against fellow independents Gordon McLean and Gary Smith, and Liberal Democrat Joy Routledge.